“When people say it’s business, it’s not personal, well that just means it’s not personal for them,” Dickey explained, according to ESPN New York. “I’m hoping it ends up in a good place, but also in the back of your mind you think it may not. That’s sad.”

Ummm, did Dickey just walk in off the streets? Or, did the Mets invite him? I’m thinking the Mets invited him, right? Also, did Dickey just grab the mic and start spouting off about his contract, totally unprovoked? Or, was he asked questions by reporters, who usually cover these events in exchange for being allowed to ask baseball questions? I’m guessing the Mets invited them too.

So, what exactly did the Mets think was going to happen? Did they honestly think the topic of Dickey’s contract wouldn’t come up? Or, did they expect him to say, ‘Hey, guys, everything’s great,’ despite countless reports to the contrary over the last few weeks?

Sure, idealistically speaking, you’d love for reporters to be respectful of the negotiating process, but that’s not the definition of their job. Also, you’d like to think (in the face of pointed questions) your player would just smile, behave and say all the right things, evading questions with rhetoric, cliches and vague answers. However, he and the media have a job to do, so you could also not put him in front of reporters at a time when he’s the only topic people are reporting on and speculating about… just a suggestion.